To compare progress fairly, repeat the same kind of task under the same conditions, then compare skill by skill, not just the total. A score only tells you about progress when the tasks are comparable.
Learners who study at home have no class average or teacher’s report to lean on, so this habit matters more. It also protects you from two opposite mistakes: believing you improved when the task was easier, and believing you did not improve when the task was harder.
What makes two tasks comparable?
Five things need to line up. If any one differs, write the difference down beside the score.
| Condition | Keep the same |
|---|---|
| Topics | The same skills, in similar proportions |
| Length and marks | The same total marks, or compare percentages with care |
| Time | The same time limit per mark |
| Resources | Notes closed both times, or open both times |
| Marking | The same mark scheme, applied by the same person |
The evidence-of-progress tracker is built on this idea. It shows differences in scope or conditions next to the trend instead of hiding them.
Worked example: a fair and an unfair comparison
Aiman is revising algebra at home. In week 2 he sits Task A: 20 marks, 25 minutes, notes closed. In week 6 he sits Task B, which he found in a different book.
| Skill | Marks available | Task A (week 2) |
|---|---|---|
| Expanding brackets | 4 | 4 |
| Factorising | 5 | 1 |
| Solving linear equations | 6 | 6 |
| Rearranging formulae | 5 | 3 |
| Total | 20 | 14 (70%) |
Task B scores 17 out of 20, which is 85%. It looks like a big jump. But Task B had no time limit, he used his notes, and it contained no factorising.
That comparison is unfair. The hardest skill was missing, and the conditions were easier. The 15-point jump proves nothing.
So in week 7 Aiman sits Task C, built like Task A: same four skills, same marks, 25 minutes, notes closed.
| Skill | Marks available | Task A | Task C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expanding brackets | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Factorising | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Solving linear equations | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Rearranging formulae | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 20 | 14 | 15 |
This comparison is fair. The total moved from 70% to 75%, a small change. The useful finding sits underneath: factorising rose from 1 to 3 marks, while rearranging slipped from 3 to 2. His next session should go to rearranging, not to another round of the skills he already has.
The mistake to watch for
The usual slip is comparing totals from tasks that were never alike.
Mistaken conclusion: “I went from 70% to 85%, so I have improved by 15 points.”
Correction: “Task B was easier and had no factorising. I need a repeat of Task A’s conditions before I can say anything.”
A second slip is judging one attempt alone. One good or bad day can move a score by several marks, so look for a pattern across attempts.
Check yourself
1. Sara scores 12 out of 20 on a timed quiz and 16 out of 20 on an untimed quiz with her notes open. Has she improved by four marks?
Show answer
Not safely. The conditions differ in time and resources, so the gap may come from those changes. She should repeat the timed, closed-notes version and compare that.
2. Two attempts have the same total, 15 out of 20. In the first, Aiman lost the marks on factorising. In the second, he lost them on rearranging. Is that “no progress”?
Show answer
Not necessarily. The total is the same, but the weak skill has changed, so one skill improved and another did not. Reading skill by skill shows what to work on next.
3. What two details should you record next to every score?
Show answer
The conditions (time limit, notes open or closed) and the topics covered. With those, anyone can judge whether two scores are comparable.
Where this leads next
Start from the plan you built in an independent IGCSE study routine and add one comparable task every fortnight. If your syllabus target is still uncertain, return to verifying the syllabus first, because a fair comparison needs the right target.
When the numbers show a skill that refuses to move, that is a good moment to bring in help. A paid one-hour trial with one of our teachers can test that exact skill in online one-to-one IGCSE tuition, and the students guide lists other learning routes.